THE GARDEN
Four programmes exploring the changing nature of the garden landscape with the passage of the seasons. An evocative series telling the story of an Oxfordshire garden through time and the seasons, from its earliest creation to the challenges it faces in the 21st century.
This is a fictional tale based on fact, set against a backdrop of specially recorded sounds.
1 EARLY SPRING
Throughout the winter, robins have been singing to hold their territory, but now, in early spring, they are joined by the explosive song of the wren, the beautiful sounds of the blackbird and the sharp percussive notes of the great tit.
2 LATE SPRING
It's late spring and the summer migrants return - the swallows, swifts and house martins.
A hungry heron preys on frogs in the garden pond, and in March a queen bumble bee is spotted moving among the flower beds, hunting for nectar.
3 SUMMER
In summer, the air is filled with sounds of hoverflies, bees, butterflies, beetles and dragonflies.
The appearance of so many insects also provides food for other creatures, including hungry nestlings.
4 AUTUMN
When autumn arrives, the bright colours of summer fade.
The garden is now a quieter place, although not silent, as a robin sings to mark its territory.
Swallows, swifts and house martins leave the garden and migrate south, while the frogs and toads search for a suitable place to hibernate for the winter.
5 WINTER
Winter arrives, and for many creatures the garden is a sanctuary offering food and shelter, which may be difficult to find in the surrounding landscape.
- Narrated by Peter France
- Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson
- Producer Sarah Blunt in Bristol
